designKeeping the older chassis from the previous unit DS716+II is a smart move. The result is that costs are being kept VERY close to that of the previous unit. It is both compact, cool and quiet (though the noise of the drives should always be kept into consideration).featuresBY FAR the most powerful and able 2-Bay from Synology and at this price level, it is VERY hard to beat. It can do EVERYTHING - Trancode 4K, Run as a Plex Media Server with transcoding, host a few virtual machines, store images in apple time machine - every thing most people need a NAS for, this unit can do it.performanceAlongside the ability to perform all of the tasks you need from a NAS server in 2017 and 2018, you will have the high speed of read and write from the dual LAN ports. As well as supporting both the BTRFS files system and the SHR configuration - both of which vastly improve your performance and integrity of your datavalueEasily one of the best NAS servers of 2017. It has the power, the price and the compact size to fulfil your NAS needs and provide an ample storage solution.

designStill not sure why they didn't update the chassis, as they have done with the DS218+featuresAs it is just a 2-Bay, you will need to buy the DX517 to expand to higher than 2 HDD/SSD. If you need more than 2 bays for immediate storage, go for the DS918+performanceThe RAM can only be expanded to 6GB - As apposed to 8GB as you might expect. The 4GB Memory upgrade is available from Synology, but still a shame you cannot officially exceed the 6GB MemoryvalueThe only real negative for me was that the price is only £60-70 lower than the DS918+ 4-Bay, which features NVMe SSD storage on top and 4GB of goes upto 8GB.

General Performance

The DS718+ (6GB) unlike the TS-231P2-4G is made by Synology. People often choose Synology because of user friendly interface as well as being suited for Mac and Windows based environments. It is relatively easy to set up and use, and those who are new to Network Attached Storage are advised to go for the Synology. Unlike the TS-231P2-4G this box has the Intel Celeron J3455 quad-core 1.5GHz, burst up to 2.3GHz processor. Another key difference between the TS-231P2-4G is RAM. DS718+ (6GB) arrives with 6GB RAM. The DS718+ (6GB) 6GB RAM compared with TS-231P2-4G 4GB is clearly weaker.

About Connections

There are two LAN ports on this box, making it a good home or small business NAS as you can utilise Link Aggregation and Failover support. Three USB3 ports on this Synology is offering you up to 5Gb/s transfer speeds of external devices. It is fast enough to get your files through fairly quickly with this speed and make backing up with an external drive or Apple Time Machine a quick and easy process. There is one eSATA port on DS718+ (6GB) giving you up to 6Gb/s transfer speeds. Sometimes when your business grows, you might consider getting a box with expansion capabilities. With this box you have all opportunities to do so. You might want to contact one of our tech guys to find out more.

About Usage

With two bay unit you are having additional advantages. You may choose your box to be set up as JBOD, RAID0 or RAID1.
RAID 0 would be good for non-critical storage of data when you need it to read and written at high speeds. It could give you good performance. Besides you can still access your documents or media files over your private network or even internet. You may install Plex Media Server on this box. Plex lets you easily create a feature rich and practical home media playback system. Some boxes offer real time transcoding functionality. That let you stream your media hustle free, based on your device speed or screen size. Please contact us to find transcoding compatibility list.

Price And Warranty

This box comes with 3 year warranty for your peace of mind and long term hardware security. This is the most expensive box with the price tag £359.00.

General Performance

The TS-231P2-4G unlike the DS718+ (6GB) is made by Qnap. By choosing Qnap people expect to see advanced configurations opportunities as well as innovative and more diverse business applications. You are able to customize the TS-231P2-4G to your needs. Unlike the DS718+ (6GB) this box has the Annapurna Labs AL-314, 4-core,1.7GHz processor. Another key difference between the DS718+ (6GB) is RAM. TS-231P2-4G arrives with 4GB RAM. The TS-231P2-4G 4GB RAM compared with DS718+ (6GB) 6GB is clearly weaker.

About Connections

There are two LAN ports on this box, making it a good home or small business NAS as you can utilise Link Aggregation and Failover support. Three USB3 ports on this Qnap is offering you up to 5Gb/s transfer speeds of external devices. It is fast enough to get your files through fairly quickly with this speed and make backing up with an external drive or Apple Time Machine a quick and easy process.

About Usage

With two bay unit you are having additional advantages. You may choose your box to be set up as JBOD, RAID0 or RAID1.
RAID 0 would be good for non-critical storage of data when you need it to read and written at high speeds. It could give you good performance. Besides you can still access your documents or media files over your private network or even internet.

Price And Warranty

This box comes with 2 year warranty for your peace of mind and long term hardware security. Despite DS718+ (6GB) has better warranty, it is still good to know that you have your two years of no worries manufacturer cover. This Qnap is £119.00 cheaper than the most expensive unit DS718+ (6GB).